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Secondary sourcePainting1074

Buddha in Dhyana, Perfection of Wisdom Sutra Manuscript

1074

A palm-leaf manuscript painting from 1074 showing the Buddha in meditation (dhyana), from a Buddhist sutra text.

A medieval manuscript painting depicting the Buddha seated in meditation, part of a sutra attributed to his teachings.

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Painted leaf of a palm-leaf or wooden-board style manuscript showing a seated, yellow-faced Buddha in red robes in meditation pose, flanked by two small figures, with black and red borders and script at the sides.
Buddha in dhyana, from the Sutra about the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines, 1074. Wellcome Collection, London.

About this source

What it is

This is a painted palm-leaf page from a manuscript of the Astasahasrikaprajnaparamitasutra, or 'The Sutra about the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines', dated 1074. It is held today by the Wellcome Collection in London. The miniature shows the Buddha seated in meditation, with script in the surrounding borders.

Why it matters

Buddhist tradition treats sutras like this as the Buddha's own teachings, passed down and copied by generations of monks and scribes. This manuscript shows how, centuries after the Buddha lived, artists and copyists continued to picture him and preserve his teachings in careful, decorated texts.

Look closer

  • What details tell you this is a meditating figure rather than an active one?
  • Why might scribes have added small painted scenes to a religious text instead of only writing it?
  • What does the care put into this manuscript suggest about how important these teachings were to the people who made it?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Buddha on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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